LSM Newswire

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Ondine Signs Violist David Aaron Carpenter and Announces North American April Releases

[Note: Fact sheets attached as PDFs

Ondine North American News and Releases for April 2009


· Signs violist David Aaron Carpenter

· Releases world premiere recording of long-lost Hindemith work, the Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29

· Releases Bizarre Bazaar featuring clarinetist Kari Kriikku

· Releases world premiere recording of Hallgrímsson's Cello Concerto performed by Truls Mørk


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http://christinajensenpr.com/images/imgallery/imgallery-David_Aaron_Carpenter.jpgONDINE SIGNS RISING STAR VIOLIST DAVID AARON CARPENTER


Debut recording – Viola Concertos by Elgar and Schnittke – will be released internationally in September 2009 and features the Philharmonia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach. A pre-release sample is available at www.ondine.net/davidaaroncarpenter


Ondine is pleased to announce the signing of a recording agreement with 22-year-old violist David Aaron Carpenter, who has recently emerged as one of the world's most promising young talents. The initial agreement calls for four CD releases. Mr. Carpenter, who was the Winner of the 2006 Walter W. Naumburg Viola Competition, will be performing in recital at Carnegie Hall in Zankel Hall on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 7:30 pm (www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/events/evt_12771.html).


His debut recording – to be released in September 2009 – couples two concertos: a viola arrangement of Sir Edward Elgar's famous Cello Concerto and the Viola Concerto (1985) by Alfred Schnittke. Christoph Eschenbach leads the Philharmonia Orchestra. David Aaron Carpenter adapted much of the Elgar Concerto himself, using the well-known and Elgar-sanctioned arrangement by Lionel Tertis as a basis.


Since making his orchestral debut in 2005 with The Philadelphia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, David Aaron Carpenter has been performing with leading musicians and orchestras in the United States and Europe. In 2007, he became the first American and youngest protégé for The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and the protégé of world-renowned violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman. He was chosen among an international selection that included every violinist and violist of his generation.


David Aaron Carpenter has been acclaimed as producing, "a seductively rich sound and demonstrating both a forceful interpretive personality and remarkable control of his instrument," (The New York Times) and, "whose beautiful modulated tone makes a striking impression." (The Strad)


Industry veteran Kevin Kleinmann, who brought David Aaron Carpenter to Ondine's attention and serves as Executive Producer for this and future recordings with the artist on Ondine, said, "In my more than thirty years working with classical musicians, I have rarely encountered a more striking talent than David Aaron Carpenter. He combines an incandescent and imaginative musical personality with effortless technique an maturity far beyond his years. His intense musicality and talent brings to my mind such past greats as Michael Rabin and Jacqueline du Pré. Working on the Elgar recording project made me realize how, I David's hands, this Concerto works so well on the viola."


Reijo Kiilunen, Managing Director of Ondine, added, "It is my pleasure to welcome this outstandingly gifted young musician to Ondine and to release his debut recording. I believe that David Aaron Carpenter combines superstar potential with an artistic depth uncommon for his age. The juxtaposition of the concertos by Elgar and Schnittke underlines our label's artistic vision, and we look forward to many further exciting recordings with David in the future."


On signing with Ondine, David Aaron Carpenter said, "I want to express my gratitude to the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative for making this recording possible. I look forward to my collaboration with Ondine, a company that remains true to its core musical principals. I am fortunate that Ondine aligns its vision with my own to establish the viola as a solo instrument. Making my first recording with Maestro Eschenbach and the Philharmonia Orchestra has been a truly remarkable journey. Performing the Elgar Cello Concerto on viola has definitely been the highlight of my musical career thus far, and I hope that listeners will appreciate this masterpiece interpreted in a new light." Subsequent to the release of his debut album, David Aaron Carpenter will be performing the Schnittke Concerto in Dresden with the Dresden Staatskapelle conducted by Christoph Eschenbach on November 29th and 30th, 2009.


Artist profile at Ondine.net: www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=3.2&oid=4055

Artist profile on The Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative website: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/david-aaron-carpenter/index.jsp

Video portrait of the artist: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/david-aaron-carpenter/journalself-portrait.jsp

Video showing the artist working with his mentor Pinchas Zukerman: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/mentorship-2006-2007/index.jsp

Interview with the artist: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/mentorship-2006-2007/interviewwith-protege.jsp

Official website of the artist: http://davidaaroncarpenter.com


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http://christinajensenpr.com/images/imgallery/imgallery-1141-2_300dpi.jpgPAUL HINDEMITH

KLAVIERMUSIK MIT ORCHESTER,

Op. 29 (for Piano Left Hand)

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK

SYMPHONY No. 9 in E minor

Op. 95 "From the New World"


Leon Fleisher, piano

The Curtis SymphonyOrchestra

Christoph Eschenbach, conductor

ODE 1141-2

Release date: April 28, 2009


Ondine is proud to announce the April 28, 2009 release of the first-ever commercial recording of a long-lost major work by Paul Hindemith, the Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29 for piano left-hand and orchestra. The New York Times has called it, "a fantastic work that requires tremendous technique and stamina" (December 2, 2006). The disc also features Antonín Dvořák's popular Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World").


Hindemith wrote this concerto in 1923 for the left-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during the First World War. Wittgenstein never performed it, and it was only upon the death of his widow, in 2002, that the piece was discovered in a farmhouse in Pennsylvania; the work received an acclaimed 2004 world premiere in Berlin, with piano legend Leon Fleisher as soloist and the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Leon Fleisher, who is one of the most prominent specialists of left-hand repertoire, is the soloist on this recording.


Watch the Christoph Eschenbach and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra performing Dvořák Symphony No. 9 on YouTube.


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http://christinajensenpr.com/images/imgallery/imgallery-1140-2_300dpi.jpgKARI KRIIKKU, CLARINET

BIZARRE BAZAAR

TAPIOLA SINFONIETTA

JAN SÖDERBLOM, conductor

ODE 1140-2

Release date: April 28, 2009


Hailed by press and public as one of the world's foremost clarinetists, Kari Kriikku is celebrated for his musical inventiveness and fresh attitude towards traditional performance. His versatility covers numerous periods, ranging from Mozart to the contemporary, and has been a muse for composers such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho and Kimmo Hakola.


Kari Kriikku's passion for traditional folk music shines through in Bizarre Bazaar, his new album release on Ondine. The eclectic programme showcases the diverse use of the clarinet in Jewish klezmer, Portuguese fado, Argentinean tango and Arab music. "I have followed my instincts in gradually bringing together works from various cultures that have impressed me on my travels and then unabashedly adapted those works for concert use," says Kari Kriikku who performs here with the chamber orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta and additional oud, qanun and laud players. The Finnish press hailed their live performances as "vibrantly energetic and entertaining" (Helsingin Sanomat).


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http://christinajensenpr.com/images/imgallery/imgallery-1133-2_300dpi.jpgHAFLIÐI HALLGRÍMSSON

CELLO CONCERTO, HERMA

TRULS MØRK, CELLO

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

JOHN STORGÅRDS, conductor

ODE 1133-2

Release date: April 28, 2009


The celebrated Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk is known as a tireless champion of the best contemporary music. On this release, he presents the Icelandic composer Hafliði Hallgrímsson – himself a professional cellist – with his two works for cello and orchestra. Truls Mørk joins forces with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, one of the finest ensembles of its kind, under the direction of John Storgårds. This CD includes the first commercial recording of the Cello Concerto, which Hallgrímsson dedicated to Mørk in 2003. Since the premiere, he has championed the work in a number of performances across Europe to great acclaim; The Times called it, "a remarkable new addition to the cello repertoire… one of his [Hallgrímsson's] finest work to date…" (Hilary Finch, The Times, 28 January 2004), Scotland's Herald spoke of "a work of haunting beauty" (Michael Tumelty, The Herald, 26 January 2004).


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About Ondine: Ondine was founded more than twenty years ago in Helsinki, Finland, where the company is still based and today offers an extremely eclectic catalogue of both contemporary Finnish music, as well as recordings with major Finnish and international artists.


Ondine's extensive catalogue includes more than four hundred recordings (two hundred and fifty of which are available physically) of artists and ensembles such as conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach, conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Leif Segerstam, John Storgårds and Mikko Franck, orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the London Sinfonietta, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic, sopranos Karita Mattila and Soile Isokoski, pianist Olli Mustonen, violinist Pekka Kuusisto and clarinettist Kari Kriikku. The label has also had a long and fruitful association with the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, having recorded the premieres of many of his works and garnering many awards along the way.


The roots of Ondine date back to 1985 when founder Reijo Kiilunen released the very first Ondine album under the auspices of the renowned Finnish Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival. The label's initial mission was to produce one live album at the Festival each season. The fourth album, however, featured Einojuhani Rautavaara's opera Thomas (ODE 704-2), raising major international attention and opening up the possibility for North American distribution. Kiilunen, who was running the Festival's concert agency and had begun the recording activity part-time, soon decided to devote himself fully to the development of this new business, producing and editing the first 50 releases himself. In 1991, Seppo Siirala joined as producer, and the Helsinki-based company has been expanding steadily since, currently numbering six full-time employees. Today, Ondine continues to uphold its reputation as one of the most respected labels in classical music, and its products have received numerous prizes at the Cannes (MIDEM) Classical Awards, the Gramophone Awards, the BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Classical Internet Awards.



Universal Music Classical and Ondine entered into a distribution agreement that began on January 1, 2008. Both physical and digital distribution in the United States and Canada are covered under the agreement. Universal Music Classical comprises the Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, and ECM labels and is a division of the Universal Music Group. For more information about Ondine, visit www.ondine.net.


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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Ondine Announces World Premiere Recording of Hindemith's Klaviermusik mit Orchester


Ondine announces world premiere

recording of major Hindemith Work


Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29


featuring pianist Leon Fleisher

with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra

led by Christoph Eschenbach


North American release date: April 28, 2009


Join Ondine and listen to excerpts: Facebook, Last.fm, MySpace.com or Dilettante


Ondine is proud to announce the April 28, 2009 release of the first-ever commercial recording of a long-lost major work by Paul Hindemith, the Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29 for piano left-hand and orchestra. The New York Times has called it, "a fantastic work that requires tremendous technique and stamina" (December 2, 2006). The disc also features Antonín Dvořák's popular Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World").


Hindemith wrote this concerto in 1923 for the left-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during the First World War. Wittgenstein never performed it, and it was only upon the death of his widow, in 2002, that the piece was discovered in a farmhouse in Pennsylvania; the work received an acclaimed 2004 world premiere in Berlin, with piano legend Leon Fleisher as soloist and the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Leon Fleisher, who is one of the most prominent specialists of left-hand repertoire, is the soloist on this recording.


Christoph Eschenbach, one of today's leading conductors, directs the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra the Philadelphia Inquirer claimed, "that any city would be lucky to have as its professional ensemble."


The Curtis Institute of Music expresses its deep appreciation to the Neubauer Family Foundation, which has made possible and underwritten this recording of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.


CD INFORMATION:


Paul Hindemith (1895–1963)

1–4 Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29 (1923)

for piano (left hand) and orchestra

Leon Fleisher, piano (world premiere recording)


Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)

5–8 Symphony No. 9 in E minor,

Op. 95 "From the New World"

Curtis Symphony Orchestra

Christoph Eschenbach


Live recording [64'18]


Full price CD

LPN: ONDINE ODE 1141-2

UPC: 0761195114124

US STREET DATE: April 28, 2009


BIOGRAPHIES:


Leon Fleisher

Renowned pianist, conductor and teacher Leon Fleisher started piano lessons in his native San Francisco at age four, and gave his first recital at eight. A year later he began studying with the great German pianist Artur Schnabel, a fourth-generation Beethoven pupil, and by 16, in 1944, made his debut with the New York Philharmonic. He was the first American to win the prestigious Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competition, in 1952. Fleisher's career was on a smooth upward trajectory for the next dozen years: he concertized all over the world with every major orchestra and conductor, gave recitals, and made numerous touchstone recordings, including the piano concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg, Schumann, and Rachmaninov, with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra.


Fleisher was suddenly struck silent when two fingers of his right hand became immobile in 1965. He was forced to "retire" when only 37 years old. This was the defining moment in his career until the late 1990's, when he began treatments that finally helped relieve the neurological affliction known as 'focal dystonia.' Fleisher has been playing infrequently with both hands again, and in 2004 made his first two-hand recording in 40 years called Two Hands. In the years since Leon Fleisher's keyboard career was so suddenly curtailed, he has followed two parallel careers – as conductor and teacher – while learning to play the extensive but limiting repertoire of compositions for piano left-hand.


Mr. Fleisher's reputation as a conductor was quickly established when he founded the Theatre Chamber Players at the Kennedy Center in 1967 and became Music Director of the Annapolis Symphony in 1970. He has since appeared as guest conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestras of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Montreal, and Detroit, among others. He also had a regular association with the New Japan Philharmonic as its Principal Guest Conductor, as well as with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Gustav Mahler Chamber Orchestra.


Teaching has been a crucially important element in Leon Fleisher's life. As a revered pedagogue, he has held the Andrew W. Mellon Chair at the Peabody Conservatory of Music since 1959, and also serves on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. From 1986–97 he was Artistic Director of the Tanglewood Music Center. His teaching activities at the Aspen, Lucerne, Ravinia, and Verbier festivals have brought him in contact with students from all over the world. He has also given master classes at the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Paris Conservatory, the Ravel Academy at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the Reina Sofia School in Madrid, the Mishkenot in Jerusalem, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.


Christoph Eschenbach

Held in high esteem by the world's foremost orchestras and opera houses for his commanding presence, versatility, and consummate musicianship, Christoph Eschenbach has also been acclaimed for his creative insight and dynamic energy, as a conductor, collaborator, and ardent champion of young musicians.


A prolific recording artist, Mr. Eschenbach has made numerous recordings on various labels as conductor, pianist, or both. His discography includes works of Bach, Bartók, Berg, Berlioz, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Mozart, Ravel, Schoenberg, Schumann, Shostakovich, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky. A champion of contemporary music, Mr. Eschenbach has also recorded works by such composers as Adams, Berio, Glass, Lourié, Picker, Pintscher, Rouse, and Schnittke.


Before turning to conducting, Mr. Eschenbach had earned a distinguished reputation as a concert pianist. He began winning major competitions at the age of 11, and made his United States debut in 1969 with the Cleveland Orchestra. He learned the art of conducting under, among others, George Szell, who personally took him as his protégé, and with whom he worked for over three years. In addition, Herbert von Karajan was his mentor for nearly 25 years, and he credits him as having had a tremendous influence on his development as a conductor.


Mr. Eschenbach made his conducting debut in Hamburg in 1972. In 1981 he was named principal guest conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra, and was chief conductor from 1982 to 1986. Additional posts include music director of the Houston Symphony (1988–1999); chief conductor of the Hamburg NDR Symphony (1998–2004); music director of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (1999–2002); music director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony (1994–2003); music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra (2003–2008); and music director of the Orchestre de Paris since 2000. In autumn 2010, he will assume the music directorship of the National Symphony Orchestra and the specially created position of music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, both in Washington, D.C.


Among Mr. Eschenbach's most recent awards are the Légion d'Honneur of France and the Officer's Cross with Star and Ribbon of the German Order of Merit. In 1993 he received the Leonard Bernstein Award, presented to him by the Pacific Music Festival, where he served as co-artistic director from 1992 to 1998.


Christoph Eschenbach has had a long and continuing association with the Curtis Institute of Music, working closely with its conducting, composition, and general student body, as well as conducting the Curtis Symphony Orchestra on a regular basis. www.christoph-eschenbach.com


The Curtis Institute of Music

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to share the extraordinary artistry of Curtis students with a worldwide audience. Over the past few years, Christoph Eschenbach has led the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in many outstanding performances, and this project captures their unique relationship on record." (Roberto Díaz, President of The Curtis Institute of Music).


The Curtis Institute of Music trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. One of the world's leading music schools, Curtis provides full-tuition scholarships to all of its 162 students, ensuring that admissions are based solely on artistic promise. A Curtis education is uniquely tailored to the individual student, with personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and unusually frequent performance opportunities. This distinctive "learn by doing" approach to musical training has produced an impressive number of notable artists, from such legends as Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber to current stars Juan Diego Flórez, Alan Gilbert, Hilary Hahn, Jennifer Higdon, and Lang Lang.


Curtis Symphony Orchestra

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra, composed of more than one hundred players between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five, has been called "an orchestra that any city would be lucky to have as its professional ensemble" (The Philadelphia Inquirer). The orchestra performs a three-concert season in Philadelphia's Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, as well as programs elsewhere in the region and occasionally at Carnegie Hall. World-renowned conductors frequently lead the orchestra in reading sessions and in concert; recent visiting conductors include Charles Dutoit, Alan Gilbert, Simon Rattle, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. This real-world training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in major orchestras across the United States, Canada, and abroad. www.curtis.edu

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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Ondine Announces New Releases for January 2009


Ondine Announces North American New Releases for January 2009

JOSEF SUK: ASRAEL

HELSINKI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, conductor

ODE 1132-5

Release date: January 27, 2009

"I was saved by music," wrote Czech composer Josef Suk about his Asrael Symphony, a work born out of the tragic loss of his teacher Antonín Dvořák in 1904. Dedicated to Dvořák, Asrael is a funeral symphony named after the biblical angel of death who leads the souls of the deceased to the land of eternal bliss. While composing the first movement of this anguished work, Suk also lost his wife Otilie who was Dvořák's favorite daughter. Widely considered Suk's greatest work, Asrael remains a masterpiece of the late-Romantic repertoire which can easily be compared in scope and emotional range to Bruckner and Mahler.

An expert in Czech music, Vladimir Ashkenazy conducts a masterful and intense performance of this deeply moving work. His recording with the Helsinki Philharmonic is the first release of this work in super audio quality.

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Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"

Simona Saturova, Yvonne Naef

The philadelphia Singers Chorale

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Christoph Eschenbach, conductor

ODE 1134-2D (2CDs)

Release date: January 27, 2009

One of the great Mahler conductors of our time, Christoph Eschenbach has a particularly close connection to the spiritually charged healing qualities of Gustav Mahler's music. His recording of the Sixth Symphony, with The Philadelphia Orchestra, was hailed by Gramophone as "maybe the Sixth of first choice, sonically and interpretatively," and ClassicsToday.com stated, "No Mahlerian will want to miss it!" This new release features the Second Symphony ("Resurrection"), which was one of Mahler's most popular and successful works during his lifetime. The famous use of a chorus as the centerpiece of the Finale has often invited comparison with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. The celestial Urlicht song of the fourth movement is performed by the celebrated mezzo-soprano Yvonne Naef.

This is the eighth CD to be released under the "formidable Ondine-Eschenbach-Philadelphia partnership" (Gramophone) which began in 2005, and has produced discs that have been honored with accolades including BBC Music Magazine's Disc of the Month, Gramophone's "Editor's Choice," The New York Times' "Top Ten Recordings of the Year," and the German Record Critics' Award, among others.

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MATTI SALMINEN: A FINNISH SONGBOOK (ELAMANI LAULUJA)

HELSINKI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

JOHN STORGÅRDS, conductor

ODE 1135-2

Release date: January 27, 2009

Matti Salminen is an acoustic phenomenon and possibly the finest authentic bass singer of our time. The winner of two Grammies owes his legendary reputation to a uniquely powerful and dark voice, and he continues to sing Wagner, Mozart and Mussorgsky roles at nearly every prominent opera house and concert hall in the world.

On this new recording (entitled Elämäni lauluja – "Songs of my life"), Matti Salminen performs rarities aside from the standard repertoire and delivers a personal account of orchestral songs from compatriot Finnish composers, including the great Jean Sibelius. Accompanied by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under its new chief conductor John Storgårds, Salminen is completely at home singing this music. Many of these songs about nature and love deserve greater attention or discovery, and this exceptional disc represents an ideal vehicle.

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About Ondine: Ondine was founded more than twenty years ago in Helsinki, Finland, where the company is still based and today offers an extremely eclectic catalogue of both contemporary Finnish music, as well as recordings with major Finnish and international artists.

Ondine's extensive catalogue includes more than four hundred recordings (two hundred and fifty of which are available physically) of artists and ensembles such as conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach, conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Leif Segerstam, John Storgårds and Mikko Franck, orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the London Sinfonietta, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic, sopranos Karita Mattila and Soile Isokoski, pianist Olli Mustonen, violinist Pekka Kuusisto and clarinettist Kari Kriikku. The label has also had a long and fruitful association with the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, having recorded the premieres of many of his works and garnering many awards along the way.

The roots of Ondine date back to 1985 when founder Reijo Kiilunen released the very first Ondine album under the auspices of the renowned Finnish Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival. The label's initial mission was to produce one live album at the Festival each season. The fourth album, however, featured Einojuhani Rautavaara's opera Thomas (ODE 704-2), raising major international attention and opening up the possibility for North American distribution. Kiilunen, who was running the Festival's concert agency and had begun the recording activity part-time, soon decided to devote himself fully to the development of this new business, producing and editing the first 50 releases himself. In 1991, Seppo Siirala joined as producer, and the Helsinki-based company has been expanding steadily since, currently numbering six full-time employees. Today, Ondine continues to uphold its reputation as one of the most respected labels in classical music, and its products have received numerous prizes at the Cannes (MIDEM) Classical Awards, the Gramophone Awards, the BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Classical Internet Awards.


Universal Music Classical and Ondine entered into a distribution agreement that began on January 1, 2008. Both physical and digital distribution in the United States and Canada are covered under the agreement. Universal Music Classical comprises the Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, and ECM labels and is a division of the Universal Music Group. For more information about Ondine, visit www.ondine.net.



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